Attorney: Nicolas Guaman Competent, Court Sets Trial Date

WORCESTER — Although no ruling has been made, the attorney representing Nicolas Guaman said Thursday he believes his client is competent to be tried for the death of Milford motorcyclist Matthew Denice, although he hopes to settle the case before trial.

A conference hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 11. At that time, a decision on the competency of Guaman will likely be made, said attorney Peter Ettenberg, in an interview outside court. A judge on Thursday set a trial date to begin April 3, 2014.

The question of Guaman's competency has delayed the setting of a trial date for more than a year.

Ettenberg, one of two defense attorneys representing Guaman, an Ecuadorian laborer, said he wants to settle the case before trial. He would not disclose his settlement offer to the prosecution, but said it would involve Guaman pleading guilty to a lesser charge than second degree murder, the most serious charge he now faces in the death of Denice.

The punishment for Guaman, if convicted of second degree murder, is a life sentence with a possibility of parole after 15 years. 

Ettenberg said the prosecutors and he have been discussing a settlement agreement, but that no agreement has been reached. "The facts are fully clear," he said. "It's in the interest of all the parties to negotiate a settlement. There are eye-witnesses all over the world."

Paul Jarvey, a spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney's office, said Thursday the office would not comment on a settlement or discussions.

The family of Denice, 23 when he died, said Thursday they are opposed to a negotiated plea agreement and want to see the case go forward to trial. Michael Denice, Matthew's older brother, said the family has put its faith in the criminal justice system and feels strongly that any jury or judge, if it is a bench trial, would convict Guaman.

"We want the trial because we've put our faith in the criminal justice system," Michael Denice said. "We think Nicolas Guaman should have to stand trial for Matthew's murder."

The family, Denice said, was opposed to a plea agreement approved this year for Pablo Guaman, who had been charged with allowing his brother, Nicolas, to use his truck although he knew he did not have a license. Despite the family's opposition, the prosecution approved the agreement with the understanding that Pablo Guaman would cooperate when his brother, Nicolas, stood trial, Denice said.

With Matthew's case, he said, there are too many witnesses to not press forward. "We want nothing less than a second degree murder [conviction]," he said.

Several people in Milford witnessed the Aug. 20, 2011 crash, and testified before a Worcester County grand jury that later indicted Guaman on second-degree murder, rather than the original, lesser charge of motor vehicle homicide. On the night of the crash, police spoke at the scene to numerous people who say they saw the crash, or the flight of the truck. 

According to the indictment, Guaman is accused of not stopping his Ford F-150 for nearly a quarter-mile after the collision with Denice, dragging the motorcyclist in the road. Guaman was arrested a short time later after fleeing the scene. Denice died of his injuries.

For more than a year, Ettenberg argued that his client was not competent to be tried because he did not understand the charges, or the American legal system, enough to work with his attorneys. District Judge Karen Fenton-Walker ruled in the spring that he was not competent at that time, but could reach that legal threshold if he had education in the legal process.

For three days, Guaman worked with a Quechuan interpreter and a clinical law professor hired by the defense attorneys, and the process has resulted in his understanding his role, and that of his attorneys in the case, Ettenberg said Thursday.

"We believe, as his attorneys, he has a sufficient [understanding]," Ettenberg said.